Jumeirah Group enhances its China market strategy

October 12, 2012, 2:16 pm -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hotel company based in
Dubai, has announced Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts and Ctrip.com
International Ltd, China’s leading travel service enterprise, have
signed a Global Direct Connectivity Partnership Agreement in Shanghai.
This is the first time a luxury hotel group from the Middle East has
signed an agreement of this nature with Ctrip. This partnership further
illustrates Jumeirah’s commitment to the China market as it will allow
Chinese travellers to directly book some of the world’s most luxurious
and innovative accommodations via Ctrip.com's platform.

As a result of this agreement, expanded visibility among Chinese travellers will
result in an increase in visitors for Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, especially those
located Dubai, the Maldives and Shanghai.

Direct connectivity between Ctrip and Jumeirah will allow Ctrip customers'
reservations to be delivered automatically and within seconds to the Jumeirah
hotels. According to Jumeirah Group and Ctrip.com, once the direct connect
technology is in place, special offers and a consumer contest to celebrate this
agreement will be launched. Jumeirah expects a growth of 14% from the Chinese market
to its worldwide portfolio in 2013 and the numbers of visitors to the Jumeirah
Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, are
expected to increase as well.

China now ranks as the sixth most important source market for Jumeirah hotels
internationally, with the most popular destinations in the Jumeirah portfolio for
Chinese visitors being Dubai and the Maldives, as well the company’s first hotel in
mainland China Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel, Shanghai.

The Group has five future hotel projects in development in China, including Jumeirah
Guangzhou (opening in late 2014), Jumeirah Macau, Jumeirah Clearwater Bay Resort in
Sanya, Jumeirah Hangzhou and Jumeirah Thousand Island Lake Resort, Qiandaohu.

With such a robust development pipeline and more Chinese guests choosing Jumeirah
hotels in the Maldives and Dubai, the Group has been researching the market closely
and was one of the first hospitality companies to make its website available in
Mandarin, as well as become actively engaged in the local social media.

Early this year, Jumeirah strengthened its commitment to Greater China by appointing
a seasoned Asia professional, Graham Kiy, to the position of General Manager of
Jumeirah Guangzhou. In addition, the Group expanded its sales presence in Asia by
partnering with Heavens Portfolio as Sales and Marketing representative in Hong Kong
and Taiwan, and appointed a Business Development Manager, Ms Selena Xu, based in
Beijing.

"Jumeirah has confidence that the Chinese travel and tourism market will continue
its rapid growth," said Mr. Nicholas Clayton, COO of Jumeirah Group. "I am pleased
to see Jumeirah signing the direct connect with China's largest travel services
enterprise, Ctrip.com. It indeed strengthens our China development and enables us to
engage more closely with our Chinese high-end customers."